


First Contact But Gayer

by thisislegit



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, First Meetings, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:35:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26792239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisislegit/pseuds/thisislegit
Summary: Jigen Daisuke,I will steal your most precious possession by the end of the year.Lupin III
Relationships: Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III
Comments: 11
Kudos: 139





	1. A Bang-Up Job

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter updates every Saturday
> 
> Un-beta'd

“Lupin the Third.”

The heady baritone sent a shiver down Lupin’s spine as he stood on the floating walkway. The click of a gun loading made his eyes dart towards the edge. He could make it.

“Hands in the air.”

Okay, he needed to see who the hell was making sounds  _ like that  _ with their mouth. Turning around, he kept his smile confident as he followed orders. The man on the other side wore an expensive suit. His hat tilted so low Lupin wondered how well he could see just to maintain an aesthetic. He also had a wild beard pointing out from his chin. In need of a trim perhaps? A black magnum sat in his hand with the barrel pointed at Lupin. He could talk his way out of worse situations. This would be a cinch.

“Walk slowly over here and drop the package you took in the middle of the walkway.”

Lupin took a measured step forward. They were thirty feet apart, and he could make the jump, but his curiosity led him one step closer to the man on the other side. “You look too good to be a cop.”

“You look too young to be an international thief.”

“I’d say the same for you threatening me, but I’d have to see your face.”

Was that a smile? Lupin wanted to see. He took another step forward. His legs were more than long enough to make the pace more brisk, but he liked the tension. His heart rate sped up just a tad with another step.

“I don’t make threats.”

“Oh? Then what’s going to happen after I drop this package off?”

“That all depends on what the man outside says.”

Of course he’s a hired gun. The mafia wouldn’t have men like this on their side naturally. Lupin knew for a fact only two types of goons existed, those with an eagerness for killing and those with a desire for power. This guy was giving off neither of those vibes. He was steady. Watchful. His fingers weren’t even twitching around the trigger as he stared Lupin down. He thought he was being stared down. The hat really hid a lot. Maybe he was looking at the ceiling. Hell, he could be blind for all Lupin knew.

Which made him wonder how good was he? Lupin’s foot moved towards the railing and a shot rang out. His heart thudded in his chest as his eye followed the cant of the barrel. A bullet hole cut through his pants leg and his shoelaces were torn down the center from the trajectory. He was unharmed, but the guys’ aim was flawless.

_ Hot. _

“No funny business. I want a clean transaction.”

Lupin took another step forward “What if I want a dirty one?”

The man didn’t reply. Did he know Lupin wanted to keep him talking? Probably. Did he know why Lupin wanted to keep him talking? Definitely not. This guy must think Lupin was trying to distract him, but he didn’t need anything like that to get away. Then again, he’s been fairly curt with Lupin in general. Maybe he wasn’t the type to mince words? Which sucked because Lupin loved mincing words. He lifted his barely curved fingers a little higher, the string attached to his pinky stretching taut at the motion. He could do it now, but his feet took another step. And another. He was basically at the middle of the platform, and could see the hired gun was not smiling. Disappointing _. _

“So I just drop the package on the floor here? Right here?”

“Yup.”

“What if it falls through a hole? It’s very small. It might break when it lands.”

The man smiled, and oh that did  _ some things _ . “I’m sure you know how to put a package down.”

This suddenly got extremely dangerous. Lupin needed to leave before he was shot or he actually lost his bounty. It took a lot of work to get into the safe, and he’d be damned if this venture ended with a pair of cinder block shoes.

“I’m taking the package out.” Lupin said as he reached down towards his jacket. “It’s behind my lapel.”

“No tricks.”

Lupin’s fingers dipped into the hidden pocket in his jacket. “I’m a thief. Not a magician.”

He pinky pulled the string the rest of the way triggering the explosive he’d set near the man on the walkway. He took more precautions when he knew he was being chased. This meant the occasional small bomb left behind like breadcrumbs in the woods. Smoke filled the air as he jumped off the ledge. He rolled when he landed and a shot flew by his cheek. Heavy footsteps trampled towards the doors. Was the man stalling long enough to get other people here or were the gunshots he was barely dodging a cue to storm the place? More gunshots followed. Glass broke around his arms as he shielded his face. He was floating. He shouldn’t be floating. There was supposed to be ground here. Then he was falling. This was the wrong window to jump through. Apparently the back of the warehouse faced a man made canal. A very deep and heavily flooded man made canal.

The water was cold as shit, and he forced himself not to freeze up so he could put in his breathing scope. More gun shots fired through the water and muffled shouts drifted along the surface. The current grew stronger. He lost his form. No choice but to let it take him down until the waters grew shallow. Lupin didn’t know if they had boats, but as he drifted along he thought of where in the city this thing went. What zone was closest to his hideout? How far until he got to the woods? Were there roads following this canal? At some point in his pondering, when he got his footing back to swim with the stream, he wanted to hit himself. Lupin never got the man’s name.

* * *

“I heard you’re only getting commission.”

Jigen paused in his motion to spray water on his cactus plant. He knew that annoying voice. “How’d you get in here?”

“I used the front door like anyone else.” Lupin sat in Jigen’s arm chair and that ticked him off.

There hadn’t been a scratch on the lock when he checked. This guy was definitely a professional. The question is why did he come here? Did he have a death wish? Jigen started to put the bottle down when he heard the click of a gun.

“Don’t turn around. I like the view.”

The hell was that supposed to mean? Jigen went ahead and started to spray down his plants. “What do you want?”

“Your name.”

Jigen looked over his shoulder, his hat tilted too low to show his annoyed expression. “What?”

“You knew mine. It’s only fair I know yours.”

“I wouldn’t know it if you didn’t send a calling card.”

“It’s only polite to let people know when you’re coming.”

“But you’re here unannounced.”

“Can’t write you a letter if I don’t know your name.” Lupin leaned one elbow onto the armchair and rested his cheek in his palm. He looked utterly relaxed.

The last time he saw the thief he’d been in a red jacket. This one was green, and Jigen didn’t know if either color did him much justice. There was no helping that monkey face. And only sideburns too? Talk about tacky. Lupin gave off more of a presence in the armchair than he did in the rafters. There was a canter in his shoulders which showed he was ready to spring at a moment’s notice, and his eyes… What a dangerous train of thought.

He put the bottle down and reached behind his neck to pull his apron off. This Lupin guy came to his place at a pretty inconvenient time. His current employer wanted the package found and the man killed on sight after it’s discovery. Jigen wasn’t much of a talker when it came to negotiations, but any sudden action he took might get returned with a bullet if he didn’t play his cards right. Raising his hands up, he took two half steps so he partially faced the thief. “Jigen Daisuke.”

“Jigen Daisuke, huh? Do you know what was in the package?”

“Don’t need to.”

“What if I told you it was worth a lot of money.” Lupin’s eyes were half-lidded as he stared him down.

“You wouldn’t take it if it wasn’t.” He felt exposed for some reason.

“What if I wanted you to work for me to get that money?”

Jigen sneered, “I don’t do betrayals.”

“It was only a suggestion…when does your contract end?”

“When you’re dead.”

His magnum was out, and he fired two shots only for them to hit the back of the armchair. Lupin had left his jacket there in his place as he bolted for the kitchen. Not one to be deterred, Jigen darted after him out the window and down the fire escape. He wished he’d been able to put on his silencer, but the good thing about living in seedy places is no one really questioned where the gunshots came from until the next morning. Jigen took the stairs two at a time. The metal rattled and shook under the pressure. Rusty panels squeaked.

The back of Lupin’s head appeared over the railing, and he fired a shot. The race continued. He whipped his gun into his pants and barreled himself over the railing when he was close enough to the ground. He’d had enough of this asshole. Lupin was sliding down the ladder. Pulling his gun out, Jigen fired two more shots. A spray of blood hit the wall. Lupin’s body fell hard into the dumpster below sending a flurry of loosely torn paper into the air. Did he get him?

Jigen checked the cylinder and loaded it with the few loose bullets he kept in his pocket. One wouldn’t be enough for the kill shot if this man was as hard to get rid of as he’d been told. If the fucker was as annoying as he was hard to kill, this would be trouble. No movement stirred from the dumpster. Careful. Could be a trap. Ducking low, he stepped onto a rickety crate for leverage.

One breath.

Two.

He moved. His gun pointed towards the garbage bags, and he got a face full of pepper spray. “FUCK.”

Falling onto his ass, he heard Lupin scramble out of the trash and down the alleyway. The burning was awful. He pressed the butt of his palm between his eyes and squinted while forcing himself to stand. The black shirt was blurred in his vision, but he could make out the thief gripping his shoulder as he ran. Jigen fired off another shot. Then another. He knew both of them missed, but he was livid watching the smudge of black vanish around the corner.

Jigen thought about the informant watching his house and what he might’ve seen. Did he see anything? Did Lupin take care of him first? If he did, then his boss might think Jigen was conspiring with the bastard, and that wouldn’t be good. How the hell was he going to explain this? He put his gun away and worked his way up the fire escape. He needed to dunk his face in a bowl of milk and stew for a while. Jigen went through their conversation in his head trying to find some kind of answer to the other man’s behavior. The cant of his shoulders. The cut of his smile. The easy going attitude as he lounged in Jigen’s chair. By the time he’d made it up to his kitchen window, he noted several things. The glass wasn’t broken meaning Lupin was nice enough to open it before leaping out. A cup of hot coffee sat on the table, and there was a note taped to his fridge. The hell was that about?

An hour passed before the burning faded enough that he could sit down and read it with a mix of trepidation and anger.

Jigen Daisuke,

I will steal your most precious possession by the end of the year.

Lupin III


	2. How Are You Flare-ing?

Lupin adjusted his tie and checked his pocket calendar. Seven weeks until his deadline, and judging from Jigen’s previous experience, he probably should’ve extended the time period. Ah, well. Some of his best work was done under pressure.

Sitting at the small round table, he blew steam from the rim of his cup and took a long sip. The bell rang over the café doors ushering a welcome from the woman behind the register. Jigen walked in with his hands in his pockets, but there was a quick glance to survey his surroundings. Lupin knew Jigen drank coffee from one of five places in the city. All local. He only ever paid with cash to avoid leaving a paper trail, and-.

“Medium coffee.” Jigen set exact change onto the counter.

He always took his coffee black. Talk about old fashioned. Lupin was careful not to stare for too long as he flipped through a small book by Hemmingway. The small shop was crowded. Most of the seating was taken, and with the letter of a threat, Jigen was unlikely to sit by the window which also meant-.

“Excuse me.” Jigen took the empty table next to him.

It was a good location to keep his eyes on everyone in the café. Not close enough to the windows for a kill shot as there were other bodies blocking him. An even distance from the main exit and the back exit in case things got hairy. The other two seats that were available put him right by the front door, or too close to the register which would box him in. Even off the job, Jigen was a professional. Lupin took another long sip of his latte making sure to slurp obnoxiously. That earned him a side eye he pretended not to notice.

“Ah, delicious,” He said. “I still think this place has the best coffee in town, don’t you sonny?”

Jigen pulled out a cigarette and stuck it between his lips with a “Hm.”

He adjusted his hat while Jigen took out his lighter. After only receiving sparks a few times, he lit a match and held it up for him. “Don’t work all the time, huh?”

“Mmhm.” Jigen took the offering for what it was and let out a long tunnel of smoke between pursed lips. “How’s your shoulder?”

_ Shit. _

“I don’t know what you mean.” Lupin played dumb. He could do that. There was no way Jigen could see through his disguise so quickly.

“Is that so?”

“Ah…well…”

Jigen needed to stop talking to him  _ like that _ . It did things to a man’s libido. Unspeakable things. Really good exciting things, but also unspeakable ones!

“Take off that stupid mask already.”

“I thought you’d be more fun.” Lupin pressed a button and the face of an old man vanished under his hat. “You're acting as bitter as that coffee. How’d you know it was me?”

“Cause you smell like shit.”

Was that a reference to the dumpster fall? What a completely untrue accusation. Lupin showered at least once a day, and there was no way Jigen had gotten close enough to him to recognize his smell. Maybe Jigen studied up on him after the note. Lupin would were their positions swapped.

“Must be the old people smell.”

“Let’s get something clear here before you do anything stupid.”

“Yeah?”

The presence Jigen gave off went from watchful to threatening, and Lupin felt he should be taking his words more seriously. This was a man who could commit a kill without leaving a trace if he wanted, and Lupin was no exception to the rule. They were strangers. He wanted them not to be strangers very badly, but that took time.

“To take my magnum means to die. Got it.”

Lupin’s mind did a swan dive into the gutter. Jigen’s magnum. He was thick down there? How thick? Struggle to get between the lips thick? Choking on it thick? Would Lupin break something trying to get him down his throat thick? Struggle to wrap his hand all the way around it thick? Backtrack. Backtrack. Don’t get a boner in the café. Magnum. Gun. The gun. Jigen’s gun. Is that what he thought Lupin meant by his most prized possession? Lupin didn’t need another gun. He liked his walther. She was a reliable and lovely lady. Should he go with this? Should he make Jigen think that’s what he’s after? Jigen wasn’t a man of many possessions according to what little research he did to keep him in the know without spoiling too many surprises. If he told the man what he was really after he’d definitely get laughed at and then shot and his shoulder still hurt. Go with it? Go with it.

“Then I’ll have to take that risk.” He smirked.

“Your funeral." Jigen lifted his mug up to his lips and paused.

"You should try something a little sweeter, and tell me where our next date should be~."

The mug clinked against the saucer next to two freshly opened containers of cream and one packet of raw sugar. He could see the whole "when did he do that?" process through Jigen's frown and body language.

"The pier. 11PM."

"No thank you."

"What."

"I want to go somewhere nice if we're doing the nightlife. A bar, club, or a luxury sky high restaurant." Lupin balanced a pen on his top lip with focused expression.

"Are you mocking me?"

"Wow, that's a nasty glare. I don't even need to see it to feel it. No, I wasn't. You've got til the end of the year before I try anything. I'm just suggesting we have some fun before then. Yeah?"

Jigen only stared at him from behind the brim of his hat. He could count this meeting as a no progress zone. One didn't turn a hunk of stone to a sculpture in a day. Drinking the rest of his latte, he set the cup down and licked his lips free of the foam. Time to make his escape. Except pain shot down his arm as fingers tightened around his wounded shoulder. In hindsight, he shouldn't have sat on the side where Jigen could reach that.

Lupin unclenched his eyes to be met with a wild grin on Jigen's face.

"Moonlight bar, 7PM."

"Got it." His shoulder was released and he felt a few trails of blood start to drop down his arm. With another tip of his hat, Lupin left the cafe holding onto his bicep to try and numb the pain. He also made sure to walk extra awkwardly so his boner wouldn't show. If pissing Jigen off made him smile like that, he was going to have to strap himself down.

He did loiter by the window long enough to watch his target drink the modified coffee, stare at the mug for a few seconds, and then continue drinking it as if nothing was wrong. Hell yeah, Lupin's foot was in the door!

* * *

Jigen nursed a glass of scotch as he sat in the bar. It’d be easy to take Lupin out back after a drink or two and put the bastard out of his misery. Under normal circumstances, Jigen would want nothing to inhibit his target if he planned on a duel, but Lupin was different. He wasn’t an assassin, a bodyguard, or a soldier. He was a thief, and Jigen didn’t know what code of ethics they went by if Lupin went by one at all. Even if there was one, Jigen wasn’t willing to learn it. He checked the time on his watch and rolled down his jacket sleeve. A minute til seven, and there was no sign of him.

He snorted as he swirled the thumb of liquor. Why in the hell was he playing along with a man who threatened to steal his life from him? He shifted in his seat to reassure himself of the familiar weight in his waistband.

“Anything I can get for you?”

Jigen looked up to see Lupin behind the counter wearing the bartender uniform and cleaning a wine glass with a small towel. “The fuck are you doing back there.”

“Working. Crime doesn’t pay all the time.” Lupin set the glass onto its shelf and turned to Jigen with a smile.

This man was so full of shit it was painful.

His first instinct was that Lupin wanted to drug his drink, but he hadn’t done it at the café. Then again, carrying an unconscious man out of a busy café in the afternoon versus out of a bar in the evening gave the public two very different reactions.

“Come on, cut me a little slack. With me behind the counter you won’t have to pay a cent. I get a nice discount.” He winked.

“Let’s take this outside.”

“No way. I haven’t gotten my own drink yet. There wasn’t even a toast.”

Jigen pressed the barrel of his gun under Lupin’s jaw. “Fine. Let’s do it here.”

“Wait.” Lupin visibly swallowed, his adam’s apple bobbing with the motion as he held his hands up in surrender. He started to pull his gun back, but Lupin used both his hands to cradle Jigen’s to keep it there. The thief swallowed again tilting his chin over the muzzle before letting his hands drop to the side. “Okay, now try.”

Glaring, Jigen dropped the hammer and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

_ The hell? _

He pulled the trigger several more times and each time he did Lupin’s smile grew wider. Huffing, he reholstered his gun and sat down to pinch the bridge of his nose. He knew Lupin had done something, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what.

“Nothing up my sleeves.” Lupin rolled the white sleeves up to his elbows showing both sides of his palms and wiggling his fingers to exaggerate the empty space between them.

Jigen was going to kill this man.

“Oh, what’s this? Behind your ear?”

With a flourish, Lupin’s fingers grazed behind the curve of his ear sending a brief shiver down his spine. Jigen slapped his hand away. All six of his bullets were connected with a thin string and set onto the counter by his drink.

“Thought you said you weren’t a magician.”

Lupin flipped each of the bullets tip down in a line. “I’m not, but thieves have their tricks. Like this one.” He pulled out a small metal circle from his pocket with an extension handle long enough to be pinched between sturdy fingers. Small indentations were in the rim, and Lupin set the end of each bullet into it until it was full. He then held up the ring of bullets with the device attached.

“A magnet?”

“Not just a magnet. This will help you load your gun faster. Good if you get bloody fingers and can’t do it one by one.”

Jigen wanted to knock the thing out of Lupin’s hand. “You accessorizing my gun before you steal it?”

“If that’s how you want to see things. Perhaps.”

He really was a piece of work.

"Try it. If you don't like it, toss it." Lupin held the ring out.

This could be anything. A bomb. A tracking device. A marker for a missile that'd activate as soon as he left the bar. Okay, maybe that was a stretch but accepting gifts from strangers never was a good idea. What was more suspicious is why Lupin offered him something he could feasibly see himself using. Speeding up the reload time even by a couple seconds might make or break a job, and it did look convenient. Was he luring Jigen into a false sense of security? Trying to make him drop his guard so he'd be easier to steal from?

He tried to read Lupin’s body language to see if there was some kind of trick, but Lupin's shoulders were relaxed. His smile was easy-going unlike when he lounged in Jigen's armchair, and instead of the dangerous eyes from before this time they were, and he hated to say it, but the gaze was soft. He didn't trust it. He couldn't trust it.

"No thanks."

Lupin frowned, and Jigen took a bit of satisfaction from that. He wasn't some gullible schmuck yearning for kindness. Now that his contract was void due to higher-up incompetence, he planned on isolating himself for a few months until the money got low. Then he'd be back to looking for work. There were tons of jobs where his skills were needed, but he had to draw the line at things like if the pay was worth the trouble, or how long he'd be somewhere different and what he needed to learn before the transition. It was how the world worked, and-.

“How was the coffee?”

His mind stuttered at that. After their last exchange, he’d changed up his choice in locations for coffee. Lupin must’ve meant last time. Jigen tried recalling the taste as he hadn’t made the changes to his regular coffee but one other time after that. There wasn’t too much cream for how large his cup had been. The color of the coffee remained dark and the edge of sweetness from the sugar made him pace out drinking it instead of swallowing it down as fast as he could manage. He clicked his tongue and took a sip of his scotch and said, “I don’t take sugar.”

“Then why’d you get the Aberfeldy?” Lupin poured a drink for himself practically filled with cassis.

“It ain’t that sweet.”

“Good to know the Irish cream was satisfactory.”

“I never said it was.”

So Lupin  _ did _ spike his coffee. Just not with drugs.

“Would you prefer a French cream next time?”

There was that tone again. Jigen wanted to place how it sounded or what it implied, but nothing came to mind. Lupin simply drank from his glass gazing at Jigen with half-lidded eyes as if he knew something Jigen didn’t.

He finished the rest of his drink and reloaded his gun without the device. “Are we going outside or what?”

Lupin continued to sip his drink. A sickly sweet beverage like the smile he gave Jigen as he said, “I didn’t bring my jacket.”


	3. I Have A Proposhell For You

_ "Don't bother contacting me if you're not gonna to take me seriously." _

Is what Jigen had said in that sexy sexy voice of his, and Lupin was listening. He was! It's just that a person's mind tended to wander when something they desired was directly in front of them, and his mind sure did wander as they talked. Well, not talked persay, more like Lupin asked questions that sometimes got him a response if he was annoying enough. Which technically counted as talking, but it wasn't the type of talking he wanted to do. He thought about how Jigen’s rough fingers tapped along the wooden counter. How his posture would shift when he set his glass down after what he considered a good sip of liquor. The twitch at the corner of his lips when Lupin said something funny, but he refused to give the thief the satisfaction of a chuckle or a smile. He sighed wistfully as he worked at the control panel for the security cameras.

"What's wrong, Joe?" His table mate asked.

Is that the guy he stuffed in the closet? Must be. Lupin thought for a moment, and imitated his voice perfectly to say, "Love problems."

The man, who's name was Daniel according to his name tag, laughed at that. "Pretty little Monica giving you trouble again huh?"

"I don't know what to do to open her up. She's so stubborn, you know?"

"Get her a present."

Lupin rested his hands behind his neck, "I tried! She didn't want it. She almost threw her drink in my face."

"Oof, that's rough. Take her out to dinner?"

"She's hard to get out of the house lately…"

"Quality time then. If there’s one thing women love, it’s talking. Am I right fellas?"

There was an idea.

Smiling, Lupin patted Daniel hard on the shoulder. "We’ve gotta get you some better jokes."

He felt a little bad knocking the whole room out with sleeping gas less than a minute later, but he'd gotten all the information he needed from their computers, and he couldn't pretend to go on lunch after the real Joe broke out of the closet.

That’s why he was sitting in a different cafe when Jigen sauntered in with his head ducked low and his hands in his pockets. Lupin, being courteous, waved from the two seater he grabbed near the back. It wasn’t as cute as the last place, but the smell of cigarettes remained in one area as not to disturb the rest of the guests. They made assumed eye contact only for Jigen to turn on his heel and leave.

_ That bastard. _

Did he not see Lupin with two coffees in front of him? Lupin didn’t even like black coffee. The caffeine content ,though effective, was too wired. Not to mention the taste. Eugh. Grabbing their cups, he hurried to follow Jigen out with a skip in his step. He had to dash before the other man darted around the corner, but he did catch up in time to ask, “Are you surprised?”

“I’m annoyed.”

“Close enough! Here you are,” Lupin held out the covered cup.

“Get that out of my face.”

“It’s not in your face. It’s in your hat.”

“How many friggin’ jokes are you gonna make about my hat?”

“Right now it’s the only way I get an answer out of you, so when I don’t have to do that is when I’ll stop.” He wiggled the cup in front of him. “Come on. It’s delicious~.”

Jigen ignored the offer, choosing to walk faster.

Lupin matched pace with him, “I paid 3.75 for this coffee, and I even kept it as bitter as you like it.”

“Shove it up your ass then.”

“Rude!”

Thinking he’d pushed enough, Lupin stopped at the edge of the crosswalk moments before the light turned red for No Walking. Unfortunately for Jigen, the street lights turned green, and the man was forced to dodge cars to get to the safety of the median.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Lupin waved the cup in the air.

Jigen flipped him off.

As promised, Lupin met him at a different cafe the next day where he’d paid for Jigen’s coffee in advance causing the man to stomp out in a huff. And again the next day when Jigen stared at him for a solid minute before taking his coffee and leaving. That was progress. Fourth time was the charm as Jigen brought over a cup of ice to take the seat opposite Lupin.

“Hi.”

“You got until I finish this coffee to tell me what you actually want,” Jigen said as he poured the hot liquid into the ice cup.

“A 0.3 second quick draw sounds convenient for me, and I do have some jobs where I could use- hey, woah, slow down, don’t drink that so fast!”

Jigen was halfway done swallowing down his coffee and showed no sign of stopping until he was finished. Lupin didn’t know his time limit was that strict.

“I’d like it if we could be partners. In crime.” He added the last bit just as the cup emptied.

“No."

"No?"

"Did I stutter?"

"But I'm fun and cool."

"No, you’re an obnoxious pain in the ass.” Jigen moved to partially stand up but he paused with a grimace.

Lupin knew that look. “I told you not to drink your coffee that fast.”

“Shut it.”

“I’ve got some Tums. Do you want some Tums? It’s an antacid.”

“I don’t want your damn Tums, Lupin.”

He gasped, “That’s the first time you’ve said my name since I broke into your place. We are making progress.”

“We are  _ not _ making progress,” Jigen hissed. He then sat back down and held his hand out. “Give me the friggin Tums.”

Lupin passed the pack over with a smile as he watched Jigen chew down a good handful. “I’m also very helpful.”

He was rewarded with the most long suffering frown he’d received since that time he’d been arrested for pickpocketing at ten years old. Which did slightly concern him. As experienced as Lupin was, he was also still technically very new when it came to the international crime thing. He’d been getting his feet wet in a world he’d read about in books or heard about from certain news channels. The languages were no issue, but the people could be. Everyone had such different ways of wanting him dead, he’d been forced to significantly expand his methods of escape and how much he could cut close with the near arrest or near death situations. He knew how terrible people  _ could be _ , but he didn’t know how  _ terrible _ they could be. Cultural differences really put a shift of other people’s values from the homeless people on the street to the people running politics. Each police sector had their own rules. Each mafia family had their own rules. Don’t get him wrong, rich assholes were still rich assholes no matter the background, but it was the people he talked to day to day that gave him trouble.

Jigen didn’t seem like the type that would give him trouble, and he wanted that. So, since Lupin III always got what he wanted, he’d keep pushing until he was sure Jigen didn’t want him around. Which he wasn’t sure about, as Jigen wasn’t whipping out his gun whenever he saw Lupin like anyone else would if there was no interest.

“Here.”

Lupin pushed Jigen’s hand away, “Keep it. I have a couple more on me.”

Jigen didn’t reply, but he did put them into his pocket.

“Now, let me tell you about my plan while you wait for the antacid to kick in.”

* * *

  
  


Jigen walked to the gym with his hands shoved in his pockets. The street lights illuminated the occasional scurrying rat while hiding cracks in the sidewalk under shadows. It’s not as though Lupin’s plan was bad. It was surprisingly well thought out and maybe perfect if Jigen were to take part.  _ If _ he were to take part. He wasn’t going to though because it smelled like a trap. He could just as easily have his gun snatched and be left to fend off the guards during their escape. Criminals when they were all under one leader could be trusted to an extent for fear of punishment from their masters if they stepped out of line. Truth be told, he stopped working as a hitman because he was tired of the double cross. A guy could only swear revenge on so many people before their network began to shrink.

Lupin was a lone wolf. Like Jigen, he had no attachments, but not knowing the thief meant Jigen wasn’t sure if he bore a track record of betrayal. His suspicions continued to rise after not seeing Lupin anywhere since he told Jigen about the plan. He fought with himself on whether the period of silence was peaceful or something to worry about. What was he plotting behind Jigen’s back? Why did he want Jigen’s gun? She was reliable but tricky to handle if you didn’t know her. What was Lupin’s end game? These thoughts kept him up at night, hence why he was opening the doors to the 24 hour gym at 2AM.

There were a few stragglers including a woman going at the punching bags in a business suit, an elderly man in a jogging suit using the treadmill, and a man or woman on a mat doing yoga. Jigen couldn’t tell. They were in a full split with their whole body laying flat on the ground and their arms braced forward over their head. He noted the tight fabric over their long legs, and although there wasn’t much cheek there it was still something to look at. Their back was actually nice too. From this angle there was a smooth definition to the muscles and god he needed to get laid if he was staring at strangers like that.

Unfortunately, heading to the cycling machines meant he’d have to walk past the person who seemed to lean even lower onto the mat and those pants did do their ass  _ some _ justice. He knew it wasn’t illegal to stare, but it was creepy, so he hurried past the eye candy while tugging his beanie down.

Setting his water bottle into the holder, he set the run time for a steep mountain trek in order to burn off all his excess energy. 40 minutes should be fine without exhausting him so much that he can’t go to the weights next. Jigen made sure to pedal slow at the start to warm up. It was easier to focus on the upcoming inclines that would make him pedal harder and grip the handlebars so he could watch his heart rate.

On a particularly long incline, his mind wandered back to Lupin and what he might be plotting. Then he thought about how everything about Lupin was kind of long. His legs in pants that were fitted but not snug, the fingers on his hands that waved at Jigen both dexterous and animated, the line of his neck exposed to the elements and almost calling out to be bitten.

Jigen checked the monitor and saw he was pedaling way too fast for a warm up even with the resistance of a longer incline. He slowed down to take a sip of water. He needed to pace himself. Take it easy. Yet, his eyes wandered over to the person on the mat only for him to choke sending some out of his nostrils as he hurried to cover his mouth. The “eye candy” who was currently rolling up the mat was Lupin. Jigen pulled his beanie as low as it could go and hunched his shoulders while keeping his head down. For a brief moment he wondered why he was hiding, but then he remembered how he didn’t want to invite Lupin for conversation after thinking of him like that. Plus, knowing Lupin, he knew as soon as they made eye contact the man would be hopping on the machine beside him to chat his ear off. Jigen didn’t need to see how constricting that fabric was around his legs up close.

He did lift his hat enough to see Lupin walk over to the woman by the punching bags and strike up a conversation with her. At first she seemed to scoff at him, but as he picked up his own set of boxing gloves and continued to speak her interest peaked. He showed off a few forms, and she mimicked him. No problem. What was the problem was him adjusting her form and getting a little closer each time. Soon she was laughing at what he was telling her. Jigen’s machine beeped when her jacket came off. She’d been sweating a lot, and her black bra stood out against her back under the light blue shirt that was wrinkled with exercise. A goofy look crossed his face as Lupin got closer to make sure she was punching correctly. They were both laughing now.

Jigen stopped pedaling and stared at the monitor. Looks like he’d beaten his previous burned calorie count. Taking his water bottle, he shoved it into his hoodie pocket and got off the cycle. He had to go the long way around as not to pass by the two when he left, but he counted his steps the whole way back. He didn’t think about Lupin’s dexterous fingers cupping her hips to shift her form. Or his long leg pushing between hers to fix her footing. Nor did Jigen think about the long line of his neck as it curved over her shoulder while he said things that made her smile and blush.

He wondered what she whispered in Lupin's ear to make him blush in return.


	4. And When The Hammer Drops

"What do you mean no? I thought we were making progress!" Lupin stood by Jigen at the crosswalk. He'd learned meeting at night was a no no but Jigen walked out of the cafe he waited in as soon as they made eye contact. He had to leave his delicious caramel latte behind to follow him, but there seemed to be a stick rammed up the other man's ass for him to be as curt as he spoke.

"I never said I'd work with you."

"You were interested."

"And you gave me time to think. Now, I'm not. I don't know you. I can't trust you. Plus, I have no guarantee this isn't a trap for you to take the loot and leave me to get caught."

Those were all valid points, and Lupin saying that he could be trusted and wouldn't trick Jigen didn't hold much weight. He needed Jigen for this heist to work. That's what they both knew when Lupin outlined his plan. How could he use that? His mind drew a blank. The light turned green and Lupin was fighting through people to keep up with Jigen. He would have to be careful about this. If he followed Jigen too far or pushed him too much he'd be pulled into an alley and shot. If he understood what switched Jigen from curious to case sensitive over the span of a week he could fix it. 

“What happened? Did something happen?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Then did I do something?”

Jigen tilted his head, his hat angled lower to hide his mouth as he said, “You really gonna ask that question?”

“Hey, I haven’t done anything awful. I’ve been pleasant the whole time.”

“Pleasant?”

“I got you free alcohol.”

“You messed up my last contract.”

“I bought you coffee.”

“You broke into my apartment.”

“I didn’t steal anything from it.”

“You ate all my beer cheese!”

“And now I know what brand you like so I can buy you a better version.”

They were coming up on the next crosswalk, and Lupin’s heart thudded in his chest.

“Is it your cut? 50/50 sounded extremely fair to me.”

Jigen shook his head, “I’m not a thief. I’m a bodyguard. Why should I change my career now? I make good money as is.”

“But I’m promising you a life of freedom! Adventure! Thrills!”

“Sounds stressful.”

Lupin knew he was talking with his hands too much as people were actively moving out of their path now.” But the excitement! And the women! Or the men. Are you into men? If so, I’m not gonna judge you for it.”

“I get enough of that with my contract work."

Enough of what? Lupin wanted to prod further. Was Jigen into men? He'd like it if Jigen was into him. Physically speaking of course. The light for the crosswalk turned red just as they were about to cross, and Lupin thanked the heavens for small miracles. It was clear that convincing Jigen wasn’t working. He’d have to do the one thing he hated the most.

Beg.

"Please, just this one job. Do this one job with me. If you like it, if you have just a little bit of fun with me, then we can talk more. If you hate it, I'll never bother you again."

"And if you betray me?"

"You can kill me. Shoot right here," Lupin pointed to the center of his forehead, "before I can get away. I'd say go for the heart, but I might have a gadget there that stops the bullet. You never know."

Jigen didn't go when the crosslight turned green as if he were mulling it over. Lupin waited. And waited. And waited. He watched Jigen and tried to peak under his hat,but Jigen would turn his head away when he got too close. Then as if losing an internal battle Jigen held one finger up to Lupin's face and said, "One job. One. If you fuck me over, I kill you on the spot."

"And if you have fun…?"

"I might consider doing a second job with you on the condition you leave my gun alone."

Lupin didn't want his gun anyway, and he could fulfil his letter without it. "Deal. Taxi!"

A yellow cab pulled up and Lupin shoved Jigen in before he could protest. Giving the directions to the driver he leaned back into his seat with a smile on his face. His place wasn’t the prettiest on the outside, but it was a couple leagues better than that hole in the wall Jigen called an apartment. He wouldn’t say that out loud of course, but opened the door wide for his new partner with a smile on his face showing off the decor.

“What is this place?”

“My place. By the way, can you fire an anti-tank rifle?” Lupin shut the door behind them and hurried to close the blinds.

“By myself?”

“Yeah.”

Jigen paused for a moment, then said, “Yes.”

“Really?”

“If I said I can do it, I can do it.”

“Great!”

He probably should’ve cleaned before inviting Jigen over. The state of the living room was atrocious. The small table in front of the couch was covered with things he was tinkering with like gears, nuts, bolts, and small metal plates and wires. Not to mention all the papers strewn about over the couch and the floor. After that there was the dirty laundry mixed with the clean laundry in a corner and empty water bottles he missed tossing into the trash can. He had to stop himself from raising suspicion by snatching the gun replicas, a couple of which looked very much like Jigen’s magnum, from one of the side tables.

“Make yourself at home. Do you want a beer?”

Jigen hmphed and knocked Lupin’s things off the couch so he could sit down. There was still a level of tenseness in his posture, and Lupin didn’t fail to notice his eye lingering on the replicas, but thankfully no questions followed yet. He wondered what it would take to get Jigen to relax. Lounge a little. The image of Jigen sprawled on the couch, content with a smile on his face flashed through his head, and it was nice. Lupin realized he definitely wouldn’t mind coming back and having such a sight greet him.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

* * *

  
  


Jigen quickly learned that working with Lupin was like attending lecture after lecture with no reprieve until you left the building. The man didn’t talk to him like they were equals, but as if he was constantly needing to teach Jigen something he already knew, only much more boring and drawn out. At first, Jigen tried letting his mind wander when it went past the basics, but that only helped so much. Sometimes he tried to interrupt Lupin, but he would nod until Jigen was finished and then continue as if he hadn’t heard anything that came out of Jigen’s mouth. The other issue was if Lupin wasn’t explaining everything to Jigen like he were some dumb kid, he was saying weird shit about Jigen’s choice in clothes or shoes. Speaking of which, his shoes had been getting untied a lot more in Lupin’s place than they had anywhere else. Maybe he should go laceless.

“Jigen!”

“Hm?”

“Are you listening?” Lupin arranged a bunch of pins and chess pieces on the board as he was explaining the upgraded security system for the hundredth time.

“No.”

Lupin sighed and opened his mouth like he was going to start over, but Jigen held a hand up making him pause.

“Don’t. I’m not gonna listen to another word coming out of your giant mouth until you start talking to me like a damn person.”

Jigen watched Lupin go through a series of expressions. There was annoyance, anger, confusion, contemplation, realization, and he couldn’t label the last one. Defeat maybe?

The problem with Lupin wasn’t that he was “annoying” like Jigen first thought. It was more like he was easier to read in private. Whenever they left the thief’s hideout, Lupin always gave off the presence that he knew everything or that he was up to something. Inside the safehouse, however, Lupin was full of energy. Always bouncing around, or tinkering away, or talking or singing to the air as he moved or worked. Sometimes he’d freeze when Jigen responded as if he never expected an answer, and the energy level would burst even higher. Hence the lecturing.

Which wasn’t a fair definition. Sometimes they were lectures like when Lupin was explaining the plan to him, but thinking about how he spoke in general it seemed more like rambling. As if Lupin had so many words to say and no real marker on when his time limit was to get them out, so he felt the need to say everything. Everything needed to be repeated. Every question already had an answer, and if it didn’t he talked his way into an answer. If the answer wasn’t good enough, he’d make a problem out of it and search for a solution. It made Jigen wonder what was pushing Lupin. Was he wound up or curious? Did he enjoy the challenge, or did he fear failure so much that he felt the need to mark for every contingency? Was he a genius or a lucky idiot? An adult or an adolescent playing a game all by himself? Wait a minute.

“How old are you?”

Lupin squinted at him, suspicious, “How old are  _ you _ ?”

That’s definitely what someone in their twenties would say. Jigen waved him off, not bothering with the question. If Lupin wouldn’t tell neither would he. The silence grew thick as the two sat opposite each other, and Jigen pulled a half finished cigarette from the stuffed ashtray on the coffee table. As he went to grab his lighter, Lupin whipped out his walther and pulled the trigger striking a light for him. He always made sure Jigen didn’t go without a light.

_ “How can you tell the difference when the weight’s about the same?” Jigen asked as he looked through more of Lupin’s inventions the week before. _

_ “I put a bit of red tape on the bottom of the handle.” _

_ “There isn’t any red tape here.” _

_ “Ah. That does explain why I was shooting blanks. Guess I was taking pictures.” _

Lupin was a certain kind of stupid and it was a little charming.  _ A little. _ Nothing more. Jigen took the offering and blew out a few rings of smoke with a muttered thank you.

“What’s your favorite dinosaur?” Lupin lit a cigarette of his own before putting the lighter away.

“Hm...Brontosaurus. You?”

“Utahraptors, and the brontosaurus? Really? I figured you’d be a triceratops guy.”

“Huh, that’s a good choice too. Okay, triceratops.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, gunmen can’t be indecisive. That means death in this field,” Lupin exhaled smoke from his nostrils with a smile.

“Well, guess I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

“What do you do now?”

Jigen finished his cigarette and used it to light another one before it died, “Make a new exit.”

The truth was Lupin was easy to read. Except for this one look on his face when Jigen would say something benign. Lupin’s eyes would, as weird as it sounds, light up like he had a new idea, and he’d bite his lip to keep from smiling too hard or like he wanted to say something but held it back. Jigen couldn’t put a name on that expression yet. Instead he saw Lupin’s easygoing body language return as he leaned into the couch cushions.

“Ya know Jigen Daisuke, I think I’m starting to like you.”

Jigen snorted, “That’s gay, man.”

Lupin didn’t laugh in response. Jigen waited for him to say something as he sat hunched in his seat and tilted his head to see from under the brim of his hat. It was the first time he’d seen Lupin’s face entirely neutral. There wasn’t a twitch of an eyebrow, the tilt of a smile, or a wrinkle on the bridge of his nose. There wasn’t even the usual glint in his eyes, the irises nearly black with indifference.

“Is that a problem?” The question was asked with Lupin’s usual teasing tone, but it didn’t show in his body language.

Every alarm seemed to go off in Jigen’s head. He wanted to say “No, but-” and roll off with one of his usual excuses. His instincts told him to keep his mouth shut. Pretend he hadn’t said it. Ignore the question, but that would frame him wouldn’t it? The silence. They always wanted an answer. If the topic came up everyone wanted an answer. Demanded it really, and if they didn’t get one, or if they didn’t like it they’d beat it out of you. Suddenly, he was sizing up Lupin. Counting all his movements up until this point and looking for weaknesses. If needed he could snap Lupin like a twig. It might be close. Ungodly close, but he could do it. But would he have to?

“No.” Jigen put his cigarette out keeping his shoulders relaxed enough to move smoothly if needed. “It’s not.”

The tension in the air dissipated, and Lupin was smiling again as he blew more smoke from his nostrils. It was rare when Jigen took the risk of implying too much. This type of conversation, no matter how short, always ended up with him being cornered in a room or tossed into a bed. So to have nothing happen afterwards left him a little shell shocked. Now  _ he _ felt like he had too much energy to burn.

“Your turn to ask me a question,” Lupin said.

“How do you feel about fruit cream pies?”

“Fruit cream?”

“You know, key lime, banana cream, lemon meringue?”

“I’ve never eaten any of those before.”

Jigen blinked at him. “All right. Get your jacket.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re fixing that right now.” He stood up and went to grab his shoes. “Come on. I know this spot a few blocks from here. Has the best cream pies in the city.”

“High praise from you? I have to check it out.” Lupin grabbed his red jacket and followed Jigen out.

Jigen didn’t realize that maybe he’d done something until he came back the next day, and Lupin beamed at him.


	5. I’ll Leave A Blasting Impression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whole story is un-beta'd

Working with Jigen had been amazing so far. They had real conversations about personal interests that weren’t backhanded ways to try and find leverage on the other. Not to mention when they weren’t going over the plan to work out the kinks, Jigen would take him places to try things he’d never see outside the states, and if Lupin had seen it, it tasted different. Good different. Well, except for that banana pepper, sardine, and pineapple pizza they tried, but Lupin was sure Jigen was fucking with him at the time. The idea that he could think that with confidence made him giddy.

At least it did until they were both going through the ventilation system in the catsuits Lupin insisted on to prevent extra noise being made whilst they snuck towards the safe. He should’ve rethunk letting Jigen go first, but it was a test to see if his future partner, fingers crossed, bothered to memorize the path on the map leading to their destination. Big problem though, Jigen’s ass was perfect, and Lupin got to see every curve accentuated as he crawled behind Jigen.

In hindsight, he probably should’ve added five minutes in case of human error as this was a very big error. No wonder the man didn’t carry a holster. Those cheeks were more than enough to hold anything in place.

“Lupin.”

“Hm?”

“Screwdriver.”

Oh right. They must be above the fan grate where they planned to drop the sleeping gas canister. Lupin passed the tool forward and studied his target. Each time Jigen would pass an undone screw back so as not to make noise there was a minute jiggle of cheek Lupin desperately wanted to bite. One screw, a shift of thigh and a small jiggle. Another screw, another shift, another jiggle. It went on and on until there were six screws in Lupin’s hand and a tent threatening to burst the seam on his catsuit.

This was torture! Just one little bump wouldn’t hurt. He could crawl a little bit too fast and wait for Jigen to stop. He could- no. No, he had to hold back. Jigen needed to have a good time so they could finish the job and run into the sunset which meant keeping his hands to himself for an undetermined period until he got permission to touch. There was a brief clunk, and Lupin found himself handing the screws back for Jigen to seal the grate back in place.

Lupin put on his gasmask and pushed a remote button for the vents to start filling with purple smoke. There weren’t many openings to peer through on their way to the safe, but Lupin did spot knocked out guards in the main hallway and the staff room. He knew the new formula would be effective. They should have 30 minutes to get in and out. Piece of cake.

“Didn’t think robbing people was this easy without a gun,” Jigen said as the main vent grate clattered to the floor.

He jumped out and Lupin followed asking, “Does that mean you’re having fun?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

Jigen rolled his eyes. “Come on. Only so much time before the combination changes.”

“I know that! Just have the gun ready.”

The safe was about what he expected it to be. Heavy metal doors that met between the roof and the floor, rotating panels and cylinders more for show than for function. A circular handle that took two to turn from the weight, and with all it’s chrome flashy glory below that handle, off to the side was a panel jutting out bearing a scanner and a pin pad. The scanner was for the handprint of the bank’s owner which he kept in a side pocket and placed over it. It was the pin pad that would be giving him trouble. After removing the handprint, he only had so much time to follow the number prompts and enter the final pincode before it would change. If he messed up during the number prompts the alarm would go off, and it didn’t help that the pin changed every thirty seconds.

“So what happens to the crown after we leave?”

Lupin hm’ed in question as he set the glove down and the scanner beeped in confirmation.

“You know, do you have a buyer or something?”

“If I wanted money, I’d rob a bank.” The combinations were colors likely set to numbers, and he did enough research on the owner to know which was what. Red for 3, yellow for 5, blue for 7 and so on. The faint clicking of metal pieces being put together came from behind him.

“Then what’re you gonna do with it?”

“Might keep it. Might give it to someone. Who knows.” Green for 1, orange for 4, purple for 9 and so on.

“Are you telling me we’re stealing this thing worth 150 mil and I might not even get paid for it?” Jigen loaded the anti tank rifle and let it sit on it's stand.

“One, I already said you’d get half the cut, and two I didn’t know you were hurting for money.”

“Why else would a thief steal?”

“Because they’re good at it.” The pin prompt came up and Lupin managed to get in two numbers before it changed. “Shit.”

“I’m guessin’ you’re not in that group.”

“Shut up.” Lupin started from the beginning putting in the new patterns the screen was making. “I’ve still got a couple minutes to screw up before we have to blow the door open.”

“Mmhm.”

Soon the room was only filled with the faint buzzing of electricity coming from the lights as he followed the color prompts. The pin option arose sooner than his earlier attempt, but Lupin only managed to get in three numbers before it started him over again. The owner probably gets the most recent code when he walks in the door. There was no way to bypass the color patterns, and rewiring the machine wasn’t possible from a lack of available tools.

“Uhh, Lupin.”

“Yes?”

“The cameras are only supposed to move when there are people moving them in the guard office, right?”

“Yup. Despite the state of the art safe, their camera system is pretty ancient. Only way someone could see us is if there was another location monitoring the same cameras. Why?” Lupin furrowed his brow when the color pattern started over again before he got to the code.

“Look for yourself.”

Lupin turned his head to see the camera in the far corner widen and shrink its lens. “...Okay, time to blow the door open.”

“But-”

“Nope. No buts. The cops are probably already on their way. Let’s get to it.”

Jigen seemed a bit nervous, but he moved further back on the floor to make sure his aim wouldn’t send shrapnel in their direction. Lupin managed to put in his earplugs before the explosion filled the room with smoke. From there it was a natural reaction. Slip into the new hole of the door, grab the crown, and slip back out to see Jigen lifting the rifle from it's stand on the tile.

“Hold on, we have to leave through the front door.”

“What’s wrong with the vents?”

“Running is faster than crawling. They can sooner stop us at every vent or grate than they could grabbing us if we run and hide.”

“Not sure if that’s right.”

Lupin wrapped one arm around Jigen’s waist and the other along the arm holding up the anti-tank rifle. “Come on. Live a little.”

The recoil sent both of them skittering across the floor, and in hindsight firing a gun that strong while standing might not have been the best idea, but it certainly was the fastest.

In the next moment, Lupin was pulling himself off the dirtied tile with a crown in one hand and Jigens' elbow in the other with a hit the ground running sort of attitude as they dashed through the new hole in the door. Predictably, the alarms went off but there were no guards to rush them with the sleeping gas giving them some minutes of peace. It was the outside of the building he was worried about. He also wondered why his future partners’ gait was heavier than usual.

"Why're you still carrying that thing?"

Jigen held the anti tank rifle under his arm and sped up to match Lupin's pace. "I got one shot left."

"Are you serious!"

"This ammo ain't cheap!"

He was right, but the price for bail, if provided, would be much higher than that if they got caught. Good thing Lupin didn't plan on getting caught. Noting the shape of the hallway, Lupin remembered the map plans and figured out the easiest exit based on entryways the police would storm. Seems like a window on the second floor would be their best bet. Just needed to go down this hallway, take a left down this corridor and-! Gunshots rang out prompting Jigen to yank him back around the corner.

"Damn, they got here fast."

"That's how cops work. They show up quicker for stolen property than a shootout." Jigen squatted down and grinned as he loaded the barrel. "And you're gonna thank me for keeping hold of this."

This man had no right being this hot, and Lupin had to visualize anything other than the mad grin Jigen wore while he blew a hall full of armed men out of the way. He wouldn't run with a boner on another heist. He wouldn't! Jigen dropped the gun grabbing his elbow, and pulling him down the hall of groaning if not unconscious or maybe dead policemen and pushed Lupin a little bit forward as if to say "lead the way". He ignored the butterflies in his stomach from the gesture and turned right to take them to the door for the stairway. Except now Jigen was laughing, and Lupin knew they were supposed to be quiet, but his laughter was contagious. His smile was contagious.  _ Jigen was contagious _ , and Lupin was falling faster than he thought he could.

When they got to the office, Lupin smiled at the sight of the window cleaner. They made quick work of yanking him inside, knocking him out, and sliding down the ladder to the grass lawn below. Now they just needed to get to the car. Except there was shouting behind them, and they were gaining traction since the way to the car was downhill. Lupin chanced a glance back, jumping out of arms reach when one cop lunged for him. Not good. They wouldn't make it to the car unless… Lupin hated the thought as soon as it popped into his head, but they both couldn't make a clean getaway.

"Jigen, I need you to trust me on this."

"What?"

"I'll pick you up in the car."

"What're you- WOAH."

Lupin had tripped him and didn't look back to see the mass of cops pile on Jigen. The action gave Lupin enough breathing room to hop the fence and get to the car. He didn't glance back. He was a little afraid to see the look on Jigen's face while the other man called his name.

* * *

_ Jigen was in handcuffs _ .

He was in handcuffs being led to a paddy wagon because he trusted some stupid, smart mouthed, monkey faced son of a bitch not to betray him. Why didn't he listen to his instinct that Lupin would be bad news? Why didn't he say no when what might've been Lupin's last attempt at getting him to join was made? Now he had to deal with the cops and pray one was crooked enough to cut a deal so Jigen could get out. He'd done it a couple times when caught with a pulled firearm, but that was always in back alleys before the cuffs came out.

The lead detective or police chief or whatever stopped them before he was placed in the back of the armored car. Holy shit he was big. Definitely the type Jigen would pick up at a bar or two with the hard jawline, large nose, and cleft chin. Jigen hoped he was as stupid as he looked strong.

"What were you doing with Lupin the Third?"

Jigen snorted. "Not even gonna ask me my name? I'm insulted."

"That information is irrelevant at the moment. Where did he go?"

"Wish I knew so I could kick his ass myself."

The man pinched the bridge of his nose, the sleeve of his brown trench coat stretching taut against his arm and gestured for them to shove Jigen inside.

"We'll talk more at the station," he said just as the doors closed.

"Haven't even had my rights read to me. You guys are shit at your job!"

The metal seat that dropped down from the wall inside was about as cold as Jigen felt. He was such an idiot! They took all of his things after handcuffing him, including his gun that was in the sidepack he had to wear since the catsuit didn't have any give for him to slip it under his belt. He looked out the doors watching the cops scatter to cover more ground and find Lupin, but the doors shut leaving him surrounded by three other cops in silence and relative darkness save for the glare of streetlights streaking into the tiny barred window on the back door.

Why did he do it? Why did he fall into Lupin's trap? Why did he think a thief of all people would be sincere in their intentions? At first, Jigen tried to blame it on Lupin's persistence, but that wasn't true. Jigen had shrugged off some of the most persistent people with his words or with his gun, and they left soon enough. It couldn't be Lupin's charm. The man didn't have any. He got a chuckle out of Jigen sometimes, but it hadn't meant anything. Anyone could do that if Jigen was in the right mood for it.

Maybe he wanted to try something new. Past lovers labeled him a romantic, and if that were the case his short-footed train of thinking that branched from landed him in the biggest pile of shit. Losing his life was one thing, but losing his freedom? Might as well be dead.

The car rose up putting them on the highway, and Jigen knew Lupin really left him there. Okay, time to stop feeling sorry for himself and get out of here. He launched an anti-tank rifle and definitely killed a nice handful of cops during their escape attempt after helping snatch a 150 million dollar crown, he wasn't going to get a slap on the wrist no matter the plea deal. Two officers sat in front of him, and one at his side. The cuffs on his wrists were tight, but not unbearably so. His boots were steel toed, so he could use that to his advantage. He'd just have to kick hard enough to jar the guy closest to him and choke him out before the other two pinned him.

A car honked obnoxiously loud from behind the vehicle. Jigen had to squint due to their brights glaring hard through the barred window. He felt the paddy wagon slow down as if to let the other car pass only for the honking to continue. The driver shouted out of the window and was met with more honking. Tires screeched. The paddy wagon jerked. Next thing he knew he and the other officers were tumbling onto the ribbed metal flooring.

Metal on metal scraped at the door when an ugly hook managed to clasp onto the bars of the window. With a lurch the door was pried off, and a familiar dark red car became visible on the foggy highway. No, that wasn’t fog. There was a metal device sitting on top of the car blowing out smoke.

“JIGEN.”

“LUPIN?”

Lupin leaned up to give him a grin and shout, “HOLD YOUR BREATH.”

Jigen filled his lungs, holding his breath in time for the machine to shoot out a violent gust of gray smoke. The officers began coughing vehemently, trying to clutch the bench or the wall as the paddy wagon swerved. The car got closer to the torn doorway. Close enough for Jigen to jump onto the front of the vehicle. Don’t tell him Lupin  _ wanted him to jump _ .

“HURRY UP AND JUMP.”

Ah shit. He did. Well, it was either this or jail time. Getting onto his feet, Jigen made sure to keep his stance wide to keep from falling when the paddy wagon swayed again. He could do this. Just jump on three. One. Two. The paddy wagon swayed as soon as his feet left the ground. Not good. The frame of the broken doorway jarred into his side. That  _ hurt _ . Jigen managed to skid along the hood of the car, and he would’ve fallen into oncoming traffic were it not for the hand that grabbed the shoulder of his shirt. Looking up, he saw Lupin craned over the windshield of the car holding tight to Jigen’s arm and steering with his shoe.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Late? With some scrambling on Jigen’s part and another heave from Lupin, Jigen was in the passenger seat. The paddy wagon flipping over the guardrail was the last he saw as they pulled off the next exit heading south.

Streetlights became obscured as the roof of the convertible shielded them. Jigen waited for his heart rate to slow while the ache in his side grew. Although their victory sat reflecting in the rearview mirror, Jigen wasn’t relieved. The ride back to Lupin’s hideout was mostly silent. Oddly so. He expected some long spiel from Lupin about how he knew they could do it, or if Jigen had fun, or even asking him about doing future jobs together, but Lupin didn’t do any of that. Instead, Lupin passed over the pack that held Jigen’s magnum and turned on the radio to hum along to the music. How'd he get that back?

They had to take multiple backroads, avoiding cop cars, and parking in a few full lots for anywhere from ten to thirty minutes just to make sure they hadn’t been followed before they arrived at a completely different building than Lupin’s first hideout.

The car pulled into the garage of a french colonial house with a pitched roof just off the edge of a simple looking neighborhood. Jigen didn’t go over to places like this unless he had a job connected to it. The garage door closed behind the car, and Lupin did a double take when he realized Jigen was still handcuffed.

“Oops. One second.” Lupin took a pin from his pocket and with a flourish, the handcuffs were off and Jigen was rubbing the feeling back into them when Lupin asked, “Pizza?”

“...Are you serious?”

“Mm!”

“Lupin.”

“Mm?”

“Why are we here? What happened to your other place?” Jigen opened his pack to do something with his hands and avoid eye contact. Magnum? Check. Loaded? Check.

“This is my other place. We can’t be anywhere downtown right now. The cops know what me and my partner look like, so this was going to be my hideout after the job was finished. You know,” Lupin rolled his hand in a circle, “until the heat dies down.”

“Your partner?”

“For this job…” Lupin trailed off. They both knew he wanted to say more. “Now do you want to keep talking, or do you want to eat and get a shower? The place is fully furnished, and the bed’s are so-woah.” He paused as he turned to see the barrel of a gun pointed at his face.

“You betrayed me.” Jigen kept his tone flat.

“Technically no. I said I’d come get you in the car, and I did.”

“After I got arrested.”

Lupin rolled his eyes. “You’re saying that like it’s the first time.”

“It is for a 150 mil. They know what I look like. I can’t just fade off like I always do.”

“You could in a different country.”

Wait a minute. A different country? Lupin was an international thief. Was this a plot to trap Jigen into a partnership? If the authorities knew his face after a theft of this scale, there was no way he could settle in obscurity anywhere on this side of the country, and god forbid any of his old grudges resurface to leverage that against him barring him from the other side of the country. Jigen knew some nasty enough to try if they found out. Fuck. Fuck!

“Did you get me caught _ on purpose _ ?” Jigen squinted, pressing the barrel of the gun under Lupin’s chin.

“No! I didn’t plan for all of that. I thought I’d get the code in, steal the crown. and we’d-," Lupin seemed to take a moment to chew things over, "Jigen, what do you think my note meant?”

Lupin’s note? The one he left Jigen the first time? Lupin already agreed to leave his gun alone so what did that have to do with anything? Both the confusion and frustration Jigen had felt when the cuffs were slapped onto his wrists returned with a vengeance.

On one hand, there was still that gnawing doubt in the back of his mind. He shouldn’t trust Lupin. He’d technically been betrayed, if not more accurately used as bait to keep the cops off Lupin’s ass. How many more times would that happen if he accepted Lupin’s partnership? When would be the last straw? When would the metal cuffs close around his wrists turn heavy and permanent, as Lupin faded into bitter memories? Yet, the more optimistic side of him reminded him that Lupin had come for him. Lupin hadn’t lied, and if the tiredness in his face revealed anything it was that Lupin did what he could to keep his word to Jigen. Could he trust this? Could he?

Lupin’s hand covered his, and Jigen moved his finger from the trigger. “Stuck between a rock and a hard place?”

“Lupin.” Jigen’s hand moved with Lupin’s shifting the gun to rest on the center console.

“What do you do now?”

What does he do now? He closed his eyes to think. He’d done a lot of crazy shit in the past, but Jigen felt like this leap would be the farthest. If there was any time to break ties with Lupin before they formed into tangled knots, now would be it. Mentally, he went back to the beginning of all this mess. The chase, the break-in, the offers, the planning, the rush of adrenaline as things got out of hand leaving instinct and luck as their only cobblestones to fix what went wrong. To his horror, he realized that he did have fun in a messed up way. And being a man of his word, Jigen did say he’d consider a second job together on the condition. 

A faint huff of breath against his face made him open his eyes to meet Lupin’s own. He leaned back. “What are you doing?”

Lupin faltered for a moment and cleared his throat. “Nothing. You just, uh, had something on your face.” Reaching up, he dusted something unknown from Jigen’s cheek. “Got it.”

Jigen raised an eyebrow, was he going to-?

“So?”

This guy was way too dangerous to hang around. Jigen could feel it. So, he did what any man in his position would do when there was 150 million sitting in the backseat of a fellow crook. He whipped up his gun to Lupin’s horror, and pulled the trigger.

The click of a lighter cut through the silence of the car, as a flame extended from the barrel of his magnum.

With his own smile, Jigen said, “Could use a cigarette while we discuss terms.”

“Did you just,” Lupin’s hands which had gone up to shield his face lowered to push the lighter away, “You know just for that I’m putting pineapple on the thin crust.”

Jigen snickered as he sat the lighter in the fanny pack by his real gun and stepped out of the car. He caught a glimpse of Lupin’s face before the door closed, and it was an expression he had yet to see, but couldn’t name.

He knew Lupin could see his eye from the bent brim of his hat when the thief stepped out of the drivers side, and if his stomach gave a lurch at the sight of Lupin’s face lighting up over the hood of the car, it was probably just acid reflux from all the coffee they drank pre-heist. They’d discuss work tomorrow. For now, some food, a shower, something to drink, and sleep sounded much better than writing or talking up agreements for future prospects.

* * *

“That seems out of character for you,” Goemon said from his seat on the floor. “Did you usually fail to capture your targets in your youth?”

Lupin sat backwards in his own chair with a frown on his face, “What?”

Goemon was the one who asked how the two first met, and now he decided to be picky about the story? Re-telling or not, it was rude to question Lupin’s work ethic.

“What was the point of saying you’d take Jigen’s gun if you never stole it?” Goemon clarified.

Ah. Oh, that.

Jigen had a shit-eating grin on his face as he laid splayed out on the sofa. “Come on, Lupin. Tell him what the note really meant.”

Lupin’s face colored with embarrassment as he swung his chair back towards his work table. “He’s a big boy, Jigen. He can figure it out on his own.”

No point in telling the rest of the story. Like how later on, Lupin might’ve left the original calling card for Jigen on a table or a desk. And how when Lupin came back to retrieve it, the card was gone.

_ Jigen Daisuke, _

_ I will steal your heart by the end of the year. _

_ Lupin III _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tosses this here before its the end of the year
> 
> thinking of dropping the rating to Teen, but im not sure tbh, thank u for reading this fic, id love to hear your thoughts on it

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! My extremely self-indulgent rewrite in which I take that first contact special and strictly focus it on lupin and jigen instead of roping everyone in like the purposefully unreliable narrator that was lupin himself. October is what I like to call my second birthday month because I'm a gay who loves halloween, and since there are 5 saturdays and this has 5 chapters excluding the epilogue this is the perfect month to post.
> 
> If there are any tags you'd like me to add please let me know, and I'll put them in.


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